Determined Steven Barnes is refusing to rest on his laurels despite a stunning Great Britain debut.

The fitness fanatic, who trains alone, finished 33rd out of 522 during his first appearance at a ITU (International Triathlon Union) Sprint Distance Duathlon World Championships. The Brundall athlete's impressive showing in Australia saw him finish fourth in his age group (35-39) and secure a place in next year's event as the first Brit in his category to cross the line.

However, the father-of-two is adamant that outstanding achievement is not enough as he targets even greater sporting success in 2016.

Barnes said: 'One thing I did before I left home for Oz was to write down in a sealed envelope what I wanted to achieve for my wife to open after the race.

'It read: First Brit in age group and bronze medal. I guess one out of two isn't bad and I should be happyish as I only started all this run-bike-run malarkey in January but to be honest I'm not. I should've at least had the bronze medal, and looking at my times at previous races leading up to the championships I probably could've had silver. Should've, could've, would've – it doesn't matter now. It's all fuel for the fire for next year.'

The 37-year-old completed the race – which involved a combination of running and cycling for 17.08 miles – in 59 minutes and 46 seconds. He finished just 17 seconds off third.

'I'd been struggling with an achilles injury,' added the amateur who saw part of his trip funded by generous readers of this paper.

'I even had to pop some painkillers before the race, so once I get that sorted I think I'll hopefully be amongst the medals at the Euros (April) and the worlds (in Spain) whenever they are.'